A Q&A with Virtue In Vain

Raw and progressive metalcore from South Wales – here’s Hywel from Virtue in Vain…

What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
Our latest release is called ‘The Whispers Of Sleep’. The song came about from a nightmare a member of the band had. At one point he wasn’t sure if he was awake or sleeping and even when he woke he wasn’t sure what was real or not. This song is built upon that feeling at that moment. The song also incorporates how our dreams/nightmares are created from our subconscious and how it makes moments from our past, be it places or people, feel so real.

What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
The pandemic made it very difficult to discuss and jam ideas. Also trying to figure out plans of when we could record the material while still being safe. It has made us, as a band, really learn to adapt to change and find alternatives to sharing ideas.

Who produced the release – what did they bring to it?
A friend of ours produced the release. He pushed us to really get the best take. It was incredibly smooth and easy with him, plus we had practised so much being stuck inside all the time

What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
I would like the listener to hear the passion and emotion in our music. We write songs with a story and emotion and mix that with our heavy metalcore sound.

How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
Our main songwriters are myself and our guitarist (Emyr). We come up with lots of riff ideas and concepts for the song/album. From there we rehearse as a band and all write together to make the finished product. It’s a lot of back and forth with us in this band, constantly sharing ideas to get the best end results possible.

What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
The Devil Wears Prada & Make Them Suffer for myself. TDWP was the band that got me into writing and making music and is a constant source of inspiration for me. Make Them Suffer is a huge inspiration for this band. They have made us really push ourselves to take risks with our sound and push the genre. The guitarist Nick has always taught guitar to both myself and our guitarist Emyr.

What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
We would love to play the US, France or just the EU in general. Really hope to play with our friends in those countries. Venue wise, The Globe in Cardiff holds a special place in our hearts as it is when we played live for the first time with the current line up and all felt that we as a band were complete.

If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
Our latest release ‘The Whispers Of Sleep’. It captures everything we have built so far in this band and shows the direction we are heading into. We are really proud of this song.

What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
We would like to play in the US & EU. As a band we would love to play to new people and meet old friends. Other than that it’s just to release more music and play more shows.

Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
We just want to say thank you so much for your support it means the absolute world to us. We will have plenty more to show you very soon from music to videos and everything else.

For more info visit: virtueinvain.com